U.S. Rep. Yvette Herrell (R-N.M.) earlier this month introduced legislation that would change the name of the Veterans Affairs clinic in Las Cruces to the “Las Cruces Bataan Memorial Clinic.”
A press release issued by the legislator’s office said the name change honors the New Mexico servicemen who resisted the Japanese Army and who were forced to march more than 60 miles on the Bataan Peninsula in the Philippines in April 1942 during World War II.
The Allied forces’ and Filipino resistance fighters’ defeat in the Battle of Bataan gave way to the three-year Japanese occupation of the Philippines, which was then a commonwealth the U.S. was grooming for independence.
Herrell said renaming the VA will forever honor their memory.
"The brutal legacy of the Bataan Death March is only matched by the unbowed spirit of New Mexico's servicemen," she said in the release. "Of the 75,000 Allied troops stationed on the Bataan Peninsula, 1,816 were from New Mexico, by far the most per capita of any state. Of these men, 829 were killed in battle, a POW camp, or later died as a result of their mistreatment. Today, we have the opportunity to honor their sacrifice and enshrine their memory forever. I am proud that this legislation is supported by local chapters of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), Disabled American Veterans, and the Las Cruces Veterans Advisory Board."
U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez (D-N.M.) is a co-sponsor of the measure.
"Bataan soldiers remind us of the courage and patriotism that all veterans share,” Leger Fernandez said in the release. "Renaming the Las Cruces VA clinic as the Bataan Memorial Clinic honors their undaunted heroism in the face of unthinkable conditions."
On Veterans Day, Herrell took to Twitter to honor active servicemembers and those who have served.
"Today we salute the amazing men and women who have defended our country and continue to inspire all Americans!" she tweeted.
